Reactions to Podiatry

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Ober3

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Hello,

For all those who have been accepted, attending school, doing residency, or practicing podiatry CONGRATS! I am curious as to how your family members, friends, and parents reacted when they found out you got accepted to the program?

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Hello,

For all those who have been accepted, attending school, doing residency, or practicing podiatry CONGRATS! I am curious as to how your family members, friends, and parents reacted when they found out you got accepted to the program?

[phone rings] "Hey Mom, hey Dad...I'm going to Podiatry School next year."

[crickets]
 
[phone rings] "Hey Mom, hey Dad...I'm going to Podiatry School next year."

[crickets]

You must be my long, lost brother.... that sounds like my parents too.
 
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me : "so i've decided i want to do podiatry because i feel it fits my interests best in terms of medicine and want to be on the other end of the table concerning all the foot/ankle sports injuries i have gone through. it would be nice to learn more about what i went through and help others."

my girlfriend: "if you want to be a foot doctor, why don't you go to real medical school and be a real doctor?"
 
me : "so i've decided i want to do podiatry because i feel it fits my interests best in terms of medicine and want to be on the other end of the table concerning all the foot/ankle sports injuries i have gone through. it would be nice to learn more about what i went through and help others."

my girlfriend: "if you want to be a foot doctor, why don't you go to real medical school and be a real doctor?"


haha

:laugh:
 
My family members and parents were encouraging when I told them I wanted to pursue dentistry, but over the years my direction into the medicial field has changed and now I am def. looking into podiatry as a career.
So, I told my parents that I was now thinking about podiatry because in my opinion it has much more to offer and fits my interests. They were indifferent. I think their reaction was like this because they didn't know much about it. But once I explained to them what the career entails, they became 100% supportive of me. When I talk to friends/random people about it, most of them think that you have to go through the traditional MD medical school first and then specialize in feet! It is really interesting to share it with people and to find out what they know or think they know about podiatry.
 
Aunt: So wat are you studying these days?

Me : Iam doing Podiatry

Uncle : Pood-iaa-ry? what is that?

Me : Iam going to be Foot & Ankle surgeon/specialist

aunt: oh well leave that. say me will you be making more than our neighbor Dr. Shah (Internist) or no.:confused:

Me: I hope so. thats the plan so far:)
 
I like the "why feet" or "ewww feet" responses the best... you will get them a lot.

It kinda makes you wanna tell them to go ask general surgeons "why bowel," OB guys "why vagina," derm guys "why acne," and psychiatrists "why perverts and sociopaths?" There's not a specialty I can think of that doesn't have aspects which are offuputting to the lay person.

I usually just reply that docs of any specialty need to know and understand and be comfortable with the whole body.

The bottom line is that pod is a great specialty if it interests you, and it really is a great time to enter the field with the advanced PMS residency training models in place now. You get to do some surgery, you get to do clinic and know patients for a long time, and you help many people almost immediately. If you're good, you will get the respect (and referrals/consults) of many other specialists as part of the health care team. However, if you're the kind of person whose ego can't take being "just a podiatrist," then it's really not for you. You might laugh, but it's not a joke... just look at the multi-page "MD is better than DO" threads that go on and on in the other forums.

Perhaps even more important than any of that BS ego stuff, if Medicare and the US healthcare system in general goes belly-up during our practicing career (as predicted), podiatry still offers plenty of services which people need and will pay cash for. Nobody can walk around with a painful bunion, ingrown toenail, plantar fasciitis, foot ulcer, etc, but those are reasonably cheap fixes that pods can generally take care of in the office or at least an outpatient basis. Barely anyone's gonna be able or want to pay out of pocket for a MRI and reading, a Whipple procedure, Invanz, or a hip replacement... but podiatry has a lot of services that are reasonably priced and can provide a fairly quick fix. It will always have an important role and be a good source of income IMO...
 
Cheetos: Dad, dad I got accepted into Podiatry School

Dad: Good for you son, way to represent our family name

***9 months later***

Dad: Sonnn!!! Whats this $27,000 charge on my credit card!
 
Cheetos: Dad, dad I got accepted into Podiatry School

Dad: Good for you son, way to represent our family name

***9 months later***

Dad: Sonnn!!! Whats this $27,000 charge on my credit card!

lol... and great pic of Family Guy...

"Mr Popeye, I have bad news to tell you..." hahah, hilarious!
 
"Do you have a foot fetish" is my personal fav.
 
My parents didn't really show any reaction when I got accepted.....but on the way home from the interview my plane got delayed and the two guys that I got drunk with in the airport bar thought that it was pretty neat
 
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Hey I'm an FIU student, was that me?
 
I've always wanted to get drunk at an airport bar...next time we want to go out I'm going to suggest O'hare :thumbup:
 
I've always wanted to get drunk at an airport bar...next time we want to go out I'm going to suggest O'hare :thumbup:

Trust me it wasn't that much fun.....just a way to pass the time...

A trip that was suppose to be 2 flights for a total of 3.5 hours ended up taking me 5 flights for a total of 19 hours...the frustration drove me to drink
 
I like the "why feet" or "ewww feet" responses the best... you will get them a lot.

It kinda makes you wanna tell them to go ask general surgeons "why bowel," OB guys "why vagina," derm guys "why acne," and psychiatrists "why perverts and sociopaths?" There's not a specialty I can think of that doesn't have aspects which are offuputting to the lay person.

I usually just reply that docs of any specialty need to know and understand and be comfortable with the whole body.

The bottom line is that pod is a great specialty if it interests you, and it really is a great time to enter the field with the advanced PMS residency training models in place now. You get to do some surgery, you get to do clinic and know patients for a long time, and you help many people almost immediately. If you're good, you will get the respect (and referrals/consults) of many other specialists as part of the health care team. However, if you're the kind of person whose ego can't take being "just a podiatrist," then it's really not for you. You might laugh, but it's not a joke... just look at the multi-page "MD is better than DO" threads that go on and on in the other forums.

Perhaps even more important than any of that BS ego stuff, if Medicare and the US healthcare system in general goes belly-up during our practicing career (as predicted), podiatry still offers plenty of services which people need and will pay cash for. Nobody can walk around with a painful bunion, ingrown toenail, plantar fasciitis, foot ulcer, etc, but those are reasonably cheap fixes that pods can generally take care of in the office or at least an outpatient basis. Barely anyone's gonna be able or want to pay out of pocket for a MRI and reading, a Whipple procedure, Invanz, or a hip replacement... but podiatry has a lot of services that are reasonably priced and can provide a fairly quick fix. It will always have an important role and be a good source of income IMO...

Well said :thumbup::thumbup:
 
I get the "you're considering podiatry because you don't think you'll get in med school" or the "why podiatry? You're gpa is pretty good"? remarks pretty often. Then I have to explain my personal motivation, which I don't mind doing :) I think the lesson is, never let people influence/pressure you. If you're dead set, stick with your conviction because in the end, it's your career and nobody else.

Nonetheless, what's up with these statistics?
OCPM is one of 8 podiatric schools in the United States. We get about 500 applications a year and have an 80-85% acceptance rate.
source: http://career.berkeley.edu/Article/051028b-hh.stm

National admit rate: 80%
http://career.ucsd.edu/sa/Handouts/podiatry.pdf

I think these stats are a bit inflated (but then again, Allopathic is 48%). I know schools like DMU are tougher than what these career center are giving them credit for.

Great read: http://career.ucla.edu/CareerFeatureArticles/ChoosingPodiatry.asp
 
Nonetheless, what's up with these statistics?
OCPM is one of 8 podiatric schools in the United States. We get about 500 applications a year and have an 80-85% acceptance rate.
source: http://career.berkeley.edu/Article/051028b-hh.stm

National admit rate: 80%
http://career.ucsd.edu/sa/Handouts/podiatry.pdf

I think these stats are a bit inflated (but then again, Allopathic is 48%). I know schools like DMU are tougher than what these career center are giving them credit for.

Great read: http://career.ucla.edu/CareerFeatureArticles/ChoosingPodiatry.asp

Last year, I was told by OCPM that they accept 85 - 90% of applicants. Sounds like they increased standards somewhat this year but I'm not sure of the "new" acceptance rate.

DMU, AZPOD, Scholl, and Temple have pretty high admissions stats (particularly AZPOD and DMU).
 
Hmmn...
Similar to the 48% National Allopathic rate (or whatever it is recently) but UC Davis School Of Medicine's admit rate is only 5% if you get what I mean. In other words, it's not a "sure thing" as some people would like to think.
Since there's only 8 Podiatry Schools, OCPM's admit rate has a higher impact on that national statistic
 
So I explained the field of podiatry to my mom today (cuz she told me that my uncle remarked that I "would be wasting [my] talents") and in the process convinced myself that this is definately the direction I like to pursue. Had to explain to her what podiatrist really do (including surgery) and a hell of a lifestyle that is ALOT better than M.D./D.O. peers :)eek:) *okay, except for Dermatologists. She's quite amazed and very supportive contrary to what other people may not know about the field.

P.S. I realize that the OP asked those who have been accepted, are in school, or graduated... but I feel like sharing :) Plus the title said "Reactions to Podiatry"
 
I liked the description of Cleveland as "a smaller version of San Francisco" in the one link.
 
I like the "why feet" or "ewww feet" responses the best... you will get them a lot.

It kinda makes you wanna tell them to go ask general surgeons "why bowel," OB guys "why vagina," derm guys "why acne," and psychiatrists "why perverts and sociopaths?" There's not a specialty I can think of that doesn't have aspects which are offuputting to the lay person.


i know, it is funny that people think a job in health care has a degree of glamor. Here's the thing: in almost every practical situation a professional degree-holding person will find themselves, chances are it will be to solve a problem. we are problem solvers. an attorney is a problem solver. we are all pro problem solvers, so don't be mistaken by the thought that someone comes in for a reason other than to have you solve some type of problem for them.
 
I do find the "ewww feet" thing funny.

Lets reflect on other specialities-

Urology - Pretty obvious what you deal with here.
OB/GYN- See Above
General Surgery- Lots of hernias, morbidly obese people, and crap hours
ER Medicine - Drug seekers, homeless woman pelvics, things stuck in orifices, etc.
Derm - Moles, acne, and sorry..I find skin problems just as nasty as some other stuff.
Plastic Surgery - Burned children, while making women drop panties and fulfilling is still not "pretty", random procedures.
Dentistry- You have any idea what is in a person's mouth? I don't want to find out.
GI- Scope, Scope, Scope, PEG Tube, bloody feces.
Pathology- Looking at slides with occasional autopsy thrown in.
Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, Family Medicine, Pediatrics - Not very lamorous in general.
Psychiatry- Takes a different type of person.
The list goes on...

Nearly every speciality has negatives or nasty things that have to be done. I was shadowing a cards/pulm guy and had blood spit on me as I was numbing of a psychotic patient for an ng tube. Had feces thrown at me in the ER. My mom was an xray tech and got pissed on by a patient. Nasty stuff happens. In comparison to some of it, feet aren't too bad.
 
I liked the description of Cleveland as "a smaller version of San Francisco" in the one link.

Lol, that's ridiculous. I would take real San Fran over "small" San Fran any day of the week
 
I do find the "ewww feet" thing funny.

Lets reflect on other specialities-

Urology - Pretty obvious what you deal with here.
OB/GYN- See Above
General Surgery- Lots of hernias, morbidly obese people, and crap hours
ER Medicine - Drug seekers, homeless woman pelvics, things stuck in orifices, etc.
Derm - Moles, acne, and sorry..I find skin problems just as nasty as some other stuff.
Plastic Surgery - Burned children, while making women drop panties and fulfilling is still not "pretty", random procedures.
Dentistry- You have any idea what is in a person's mouth? I don't want to find out.
GI- Scope, Scope, Scope, PEG Tube, bloody feces.
Pathology- Looking at slides with occasional autopsy thrown in.
Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, Family Medicine, Pediatrics - Not very lamorous in general.
Psychiatry- Takes a different type of person.
The list goes on...

Nearly every speciality has negatives or nasty things that have to be done. I was shadowing a cards/pulm guy and had blood spit on me as I was numbing of a psychotic patient for an ng tube. Had feces thrown at me in the ER. My mom was an xray tech and got pissed on by a patient. Nasty stuff happens. In comparison to some of it, feet aren't too bad.

:thumbup:Amen on that. While Emergency Med would be my second choice, I'm favoring podiatry over it because there's alot of burnout in EM (esp. the patient population :mad:). After reading "The House of God", being in Internal Med is like torture :thumbdown:
O and I really agree with your assesment of derm. I almost puked when I scan through a dermatology book (and I don't get grossed out that easily)
 
:thumbup:Amen on that. While Emergency Med would be my second choice, I'm favoring podiatry over it because there's alot of burnout in EM (esp. the patient population :mad:). After reading "The House of God", being in Internal Med is like torture :thumbdown:
O and I really agree with your assesment of derm. I almost puked when I scan through a dermatology book (and I don't get grossed out that easily)

GREAT book! "House of God". Did you know its a movie, too (old one)?

I actually did a rotation at the "House of God", but it's not as glamourous as you might hope it to be. However, some of the characters are still working there (believe it or not!) just whisper it around and ppl will point out who they are!
 
:thumbup:Amen on that. While Emergency Med would be my second choice, I'm favoring podiatry over it because there's alot of burnout in EM (esp. the patient population :mad:). After reading "The House of God", being in Internal Med is like torture :thumbdown:
O and I really agree with your assesment of derm. I almost puked when I scan through a dermatology book (and I don't get grossed out that easily)

EM burnout is much rarer now that it is an actual specialty. Part of the explanation for high EM burnout was that doctors were staffing ERs that did not initially want to practice EM and were not trained specifically for EM. Most of them were internists from my understanding. EM has pretty high career satisfaction from what I can deduce. If it is something you are truly interested in you shouldn't worry so much about burnout.

I probably won't see if you respond to this as I'm not exactly sure how I found myself in the pod forum and don't plan on coming back anytime soon. :laugh:
 
EM burnout is much rarer now that it is an actual specialty. Part of the explanation for high EM burnout was that doctors were staffing ERs that did not initially want to practice EM and were not trained specifically for EM. Most of them were internists from my understanding. EM has pretty high career satisfaction from what I can deduce. If it is something you are truly interested in you shouldn't worry so much about burnout.

I probably won't see if you respond to this as I'm not exactly sure how I found myself in the pod forum and don't plan on coming back anytime soon. :laugh:

Good point, but you have to realize that quite a number of people end up with the residencies they don't want. I can't imagine internists being able to go sane dealing with the type of patient population that come to the ER. Physicians who choose EM as a specialty don't get bother as much by it. Nonetheless, burn out is a reality whether or not if it's your first choice though. It's just the nature of the beast when you're working a long shift while dealing with unappreciative patients (i.e. with some colorful language that include the f-word & your mother in the same sentence) and unappreciative (physician) colleagues who gets easily annoyed with a 3am call. EM is a great field despite all these nagative aspects in my opinion. You're doing something that really matters with life and death situations (not to mention no pager beeping :))
The nice aspect about pod is that if you're into trauma, you can do that too without being stuck with it forever.
 
Hello,

For all those who have been accepted, attending school, doing residency, or practicing podiatry CONGRATS! I am curious as to how your family members, friends, and parents reacted when they found out you got accepted to the program?

A P.A family friend "Why not become a PA instead?" ammm..no thanks!
My boss/professor "I think this will be a waste of your talent" :eek:
 
I was kind of bored and spend so little time in other health forums that I decided to take a look around, and something kind of struck me that I'm sure has struck many of you... a matter of INSECURITY.

I am a dental student in my 2nd semester and I love it. That said, there was a time when I wanted nothing more than to go into allopathic medicine. My undergraduate GPA was decent, but I didn't have confidence that it would get me into medical school. I went for a Masters in biology (neuroimmunology) and did very well. By that time, I had met my future husband and wanted to settle down a bit faster since I was already older than the fresh out of college person.

After a 2.5 year research assignment in a cancer hospital, I applied to dental school (which in 2006 had an ave. GPA of 3.56 nationally) and was accepted. When I told my parents, they were less than enthusiastic and I almost felt as though I let them down by not pursuing medicine... Though it could have been that I would be moving 600 miles away, too. There are no doctors of any brand in my family. Honestly, I could have probably gotten into a DO program on the east coast with my stats, but not an MD program anyway. Fact of the matter is, it took a long time of discontentment (not in pursuing dentistry, but in the lack of confidence so many others have about the field) but I accept it now. I accept that others may not view me as a "doctor" and I accept that while I worked VERY hard to get in, few will understand how competitive it is.

We only go around in this world once as far as we know, so to those of you who make excuses about why you didn't get an MD, those of you who have family members that didn't share excitement over podiatry, those of you who rationalize your decision every day of your life, remember this.

This life is your own. The majority of people who don't see you as a "real" doctor are people who NEVER dreamed in a million years of accomplishing what you or I are setting out to do. We are above average intelligence, we are above average in ambition. Stand tall, stand proud and be true to yourself. If you received a DO instead of an MD, it is looked down on for some reason, if an MD and went into a non surgical specialty, you would be considered less competent than if you were a surgeon. In healthcare, the competition and hierarchy NEVER ends. I'd rather be a great DDS than a mediocre MD any day. Do what you do with pride... every day of your life. YOU will make the difference! Good luck and congrats on choosing a VERY respectable, wise and lucrative profession. :thumbup:
 
Well put! I wish more people had that perspective.
 
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